Kennedy Martin isn’t just a good point scorer; she’s a good all-around player. The RS Junior led the team in kills (26, 0.382 hitting), aces (4), and digs (21). This was backed up by good performances from Caroline Jurevicius (11 pts, 10k, 0.304 hitting) and Gabby Nichols (10.5 pts, 8k, 3 block assists). Despite the team being plagued by 17 service errors, which matched the teams’ attack errors, the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes 3-1 after a sluggish first two sets.
Kennedy Martin is an excellent point scorer; her 26 kills today make it the 10th match of the season where she has more than 20 kills. Today, she also showed that she contributes heavily to other aspects of the game, she also scored 4 aces to put her at 31 total aces which ties her total aces last year. Even more impressive, she had a team-high 21 digs today to set her career-high in digs. There was also more left-side production this match with Caroline Jurevicius (10k, 2 blocks, 0.304 hitting) continuing her streak of good games and Emmi Sellman (9k, 2 blocks) overcame her very slow first set to put up good numbers against her former team. Gabby Nichols, starting her second consecutive match, continues to show why she was one of best MB prospects in the country out of high school as she scores 8 kills, 0375 hitting and 4 blocks. Gillian Grimes (13 digs, 2 aces), Ava Falduto (8 digs, 2 aces) and Jocelyn Nathan (9 digs) continue to provide a strong floor defense to support the improving blocking of the Nittany Lions. Addie Lyon (42 assists, 2k, 8 digs) distributed the ball with a team hitting percentage of 0.308. Penn State scored 19.5 points/set which shows that they don’t rely on opponent errors but 8.5 errors/set (17 hitting errors, 17 service errors) also shows that the team gives their opponent chances to catch up.
This win puts Penn State at 13-7 overall, 7-3 in the conference while Ohio State continues their quest for their first conference win, 3-15 overall, 0-10 in the B1G.
Post-Match Press Conference
After the match, Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, Gillian Grimes and Kennedy Martin kindly met for exclusive interviews with DigNittany’s Ethan Kasales. Below is the transcript of those interviews, lightly edited for length and clarity:
Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley
Ethan Kasales: Kennedy had a great day. Her defense in particular, was really impressive. What stood out about her?
Coach Katie: I think Kennedy plays hard all the time. She’ll get her kills, but I think defensively, she’s doing some nice things – she’s playing great defense. She’s low to the floor and ready to go after the ball. And I think her blocking is getting better and better. So, yeah, I’m proud of the work she’s putting in.
Ethan Kasales: Gabrielle made her second start. What impressed you about her?
Coach Katie: It doesn’t surprise me how well she’s playing. Gabby gets better in practice every day. She works really hard in practice. I think she’s a great teammate. She’s a hard working kid that wants the best for the team. And she’s exciting to watch.
Ethan Kasales: What impressed you about how your team responded after that first set?
Coach Katie: It’s hard to win, and it’s nice to win on the road. And, yeah, I like to get out of town.
Ethan Kasales: You guys hit, I think 0.533 in that third set. What was going well on that set in particular?
Coach Katie: I thought we were passing much better. Maggie came in and was available and scored some points, and I just think that we were passing much better.
Ethan Kasales: What are some things you want to see from the team in practice this week?
Coach Katie: You know, stay focused this week and get better. We have to play a great Michigan team.
Gillian Grimes
Ethan Kasales: What were some of the positives you noticed today?
Gillian Grimes: I thought our block did a really good job. We were able to commit a lot of digs. And Kennedy, like always, she pops off, and we lean on her a lot. So I think overall, the block did a really good job.
Ethan Kasales: Kennedy, I think, got 21 digs what impressed you about her?
Gillian Grimes: Oh my gosh. She was just always there, always scrapping around. I love to see it. And we’re always joking with each other back there. So just really good. She’s always working so hard, definitely in defense.
Ethan Kasales: It’s good to see her serves really coming alive as well. How impactful is that?
Gillian Grimes: They’re huge. I feel like she hits them at really good times when we need to go on run. She’s been ripping them, and it’s been working.
Ethan Kasales: When did you guys come up with that ace dance?
Gillian Grimes: Yeah, we came up with that, I want to say, two weeks ago, and the trend was going a lot. It’s like a Tik Tok trend, kind of but, yeah, we all do it a few good days, so it’s fun.
Ethan Kasales: What are your favorite parts about this year’s team?
Gillian Grimes: I think we’re just fun, and we like bring our own energy into the court and into practice. I think we’re a little bit underdog mentality, and it’s been working so far.
Ethan Kasales: How do you describe this team’s resiliency and just bouncing back in general?
Gillian Grimes: I think we just all had the same goal, and no goals have changed really. The goal is to win a national championship. So I think we’re just striving to do that again.
Ethan Kasales: What are some things you think you’ve improved the most this season?
Gillian Grimes: I’m a lot more confident in my out of system setting. I’m trying to get a little more on my hands, on the ball, to run our hitters, I’ve been working a lot with that in practice.
Ethan Kasales: How do you describe just your confidence level now as a senior?
Gillian Grimes: It’s really been taking some time, but I’m really confident in all my aspects of the game, and I think I rely on my teammates for that too, to hype me up or even to keep me accountable.
Ethan Kasales: What was it like catching up with some Penn State alums here in attendance?
Gillian Grimes: it was so cool. Taylor Tramell, I missed her so much. I played with her my last three years, so just this year, it’s a little weird not playing with her and seeing her in the crowds, but she brings the same energy and same love and smile that I miss.
Ethan Kasales: Mac (Podraza) and Megan Courtney are here as well, what was it like talking with them?
Gillian Grimes: Megan Courtney was at our practice yesterday. It’s good to see her, and she gives us so much great advice, and just to hear that come from such an a great alum, I really take that to heart. And I haven’t seen Mac yet, but it’s good to see Mac all the time. She’s been to a few of our games, so it’s always good to see her and the support that she shows us.
Ethan Kasales: What are some ways that you’ve developed your serving routine?
Gillian Grimes: I think I it’s really important what I do in practice, because I kind of translate that into the game. So we work on serving a lot during practice.
Ethan Kasales: How would you say your leadership style has evolved?
Gillian Grimes: I think just the confidence and just knowing what my team needs and what I need as a player too, has just really evolved throughout the years.
Ethan Kasales: What are you looking forward to about getting back in the gym in practice this week?
Gillian Grimes: Yeah, I think definitely working on my serve and pass game, it can always get better, but also hopefully we can take our great block touches that we did in this game to practice and just keep on getting better after that.
Kennedy Martin
Ethan Kasales: What’s it like having so many people look up to you and interacting with the fans?
Kennedy Martin: It’s really cool. Being a fan girl myself when I was younger, I’ll never forget how the people I looked up to made me feel so I always do my best to make anybody who meets me or is excited to meet me feel really good.
Ethan Kasales: You had 21 digs today. What was working well for you on defense?
Kennedy Martin: I think our blockers just had a really clean setup and I was able to dig around them. And, yeah, it was just super clean. It felt like my vision was there.
Ethan Kasales: Why do you think you guys were able to bounce back so well after that slow first set?
Kennedy Martin: Well, I think we started off strong in the first set, we just kind of let it slip away. So I think we just focused back in and stuck to what was working for us, and continued to be big in big moments.
Ethan Kasales: You guys hit 0.531, in that third set, what was working well in that set in general?
Kennedy Martin: I think passing well is huge for us, because our middles are always a threat. And I think Addie (Lyon) does a good job, like, even if the passes aren’t perfectly on the net,
she does a good job feeding them.
Ethan Kasales: What are some favorite things about playing with Gill?
Kennedy Martin: Oh gosh, she’s probably one of my favorite teammates of all time. Like, throughout my whole career, she’s just always fired up and super consistent with the energy, in practice, in lift, she brings us the same energy over time, and you can always count on her to bring her A-game. So I really appreciate that.
Ethan Kasales: You had the ace celebrations going again today. Where did that come from?
Kennedy Martin: We do an ace dance every time we go. But there’s a lineman on the New York Giants who has a pretty popular dance. I’ve just been copying him.
Ethan Kasales: What do you think is working well for you at the service line?
Kennedy Martin: I think just getting my toss more consistent will be huge for me. And knowing that the coaches have faith in me to rip it, they give me a thumbs up. And I know it’s like, all right, my time to shine, green light!
Ethan Kasales: CJ (Caroline Jurevicius) has been a lot more consistent the last few matches. What impresses you about her?
Kennedy Martin: Whether she’s having a good match or not, she’s such a good teammate. And she’s ready to step it up, like, the second you need her to get a good ball. And I, she’s a great teammate, and I love playing with her too.
Ethan Kasales: How do you describe the energy and camaraderie of this year’s team?
Kennedy Martin: I think very fired up. Like, I’m not as much of a fired up player, like, I like to kind of cool it, not get too high, not get too low, but the celebrations and just everybody cheering for each other. So it’s fun to be a part of.
Ethan Kasales: What are some of the things you’re most proud of the team this year for? You’ve been showing some nice resilience and bouncing back.
Kennedy Martin: Yeah, I would say that resilience and bouncing back and able to lock back and refocus. It’s hard to do. Even like one game or one practice, we’re able to, like, kind of look each other in the eyes and be like, All right, like we need better from you, and then that person will stand up. So that’s cool.
Ethan Kasales: What are some things you like about Emmi (Sellman) as a player and as a person?
Kennedy Martin: She’s my roommate as well, and she’s just hilarious. She’s a fun person to be around, a good teammate, and she’s fired up too. She’s like, really locked in when we play. So I love her seriousness and just her, her vibe, in total, she’s fun.
Ethan Kasales: What’s your relationship like with Olivia Babcock? Have you to ever crossed paths?
Kennedy Martin: We’ve played USA together once, and then we played Pitt this year. She’s awesome. I hold her really high respect. She seems like she’d really fun to play with.
Ethan Kasales: Do you have Olympic aspirations or US national team aspirations? What do you think you’ll need to do to get there?
Kennedy Martin: Oh yeah! for sure. I’m aiming for it.
Ethan Kasales: What do you think you’ll need to do to get there?
Kennedy Martin: I think definitely getting my right side defense more consistent and my blocking more consistent.
Ethan Kasales: What are some things that the coaching staff has taught you this year that you’ve really been able to add to your game?
Kennedy Martin: I think some technical things and some eye work while blocking like to sharpen that up and fine tuning that.
Ethan Kasales: What are some things that you just enjoy most about Penn State in general, maybe off the court, not volleyball specific?
Kennedy Martin: When I was going through my recruiting process, it was like, you get to be a Penn Stater. And I think coming into this program as a transfer I didn’t really realize the gravity that being a Penn Stater holds, and just the amount of pride that people wear these jerseys across all sports. And the support for their teams is really cool.
Ethan Kasales: You made your college debut against Penn State. What’s it like to be playing for Penn State now?
Kennedy Martin: Yeah, I talk about that all the time. It was happier memories for me than it was for Penn State. But it’s an honor to play for Katie. She’s obviously (going to be) a legend in the league game – if she’s not already. She’s awesome.
Ethan Kasales: What has it been like to interact with Penn State volleyball alums throughout the season? There are a few here today.
Kennedy Martin: Really cool. Yeah, again, just the amount of pride that Penn Staters, where it goes past when you graduate. So it’s fun to interact.